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Definition of patsy - 4 dictionary results

pat⋅sy

  [pat-see]
Use patsy in a Sentence
–noun, plural -sies. Slang.
1. a person who is easily swindled, deceived, coerced, persuaded, etc.; sucker.
2. a person upon whom the blame for something falls; scapegoat; fall guy.
3. a person who is the object of a joke, ridicule, or the like.
Origin:
1900–05, Americanism; orig. uncert.

Pat⋅sy

  [pat-see]
–noun
1. a male given name, form of Patrick.
2. a female given name, form of Patricia.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To patsy
pat·sy   (pāt'sē)   
n.   pl. pat·sies Slang
A person easily taken advantage of, cheated, blamed, or ridiculed.

[Perhaps from Italian pazzo, fool, from Old Italian paccio.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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patsy 
"fall guy, victim of a deception," 1903, of unknown origin, possibly an alteration of It. pazzo "madman" (see patch (2)), or south It. dial. paccio "fool." Another theory traces it to Patsy Bolivar, character in an 1880s minstrel skit who was blamed whenever anything went wrong.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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